2021 Tart Cherry Crop Larger, Thanks To Washington, Utah

The 2021 tart cherry crop is larger than previous year crops by over two million tons.

"That's really about half of what we would normally see for our tart cherry crop," said NASS' Lance Honig. "So this is the second consecutive year with fairly low production."

Honig also noted the rise in tart cherries comes not from the nations largest producing state, Michigan, but from sizeable increases in Washington and Utah. He pointed out Michigan saw a second consecutive year of decreased tart cherry production.

"When we see production challenges with the tart cherries it's due primarily with the freeze temperatures earlier this spring. Particularly in Michigan, with some of the same thing in Wisconsin. And another one or our fairly large producers for the tart cherries . When those cold temperatures hit at the wrong time that have a pretty big impact on your crop. And unfortunately that's what we've seen for this second consecutive year on our tart cherries."

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